Sebastian Namukolo’s research while affiliated with University of Zambia and other places

Off-grid solar-photovoltaic (PV) supply could be the path for achieving energy access in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, significantly moving the rural population toward the target of the 7th Sustainable Development Goal. Energy from the PV plants has the desirable attributes of being clean and affordable. Despite these desirable attributes, off-grid PV plants are also prone and susceptible to lightning effects in operation, this situation particularly accentuated in sub-Saharan Africa where there is high lightning activity. To redress this, the general principles of lightning protection are invoked in the design of the PV power supply to stave off the negative effects resulting from the plant being struck by lightning. This paper discusses the matters of energy access using off-grid PV systems and proposes a design approach which makes the PV plant to be more resilient in lightning-prone regions. The proposed design approach has been derived by synthesizing the design procedures of off-grid PV systems and those of lightning protection of electrical installations. Five subsystems of lightning protection in PV-powered plants, which may be selectively applied depending on the results of the risk assessment, are adopted. This proposed approach is expected to reduce outages and downtime of the PV power plant.

This paper reviews the current ongoing practical engineering industrial short courses programme offered in the School of Engineering at the University of Zambia, with a view of making improvements and revisions of the current courses, introduction of more courses and devising means of measuring success outcomes as a strategy of effective engineering skills transfer to the Zambian industry. The roots for the existing lag in the response of the education systems in developing countries to changes in technology are traced, together with an outline of the development of electronic technologies. The observed Zambian industrial skills gap that has increased in recent years has been occasioned by the fast technological advances in the ICT industry that now requires new skills in the installations, utilization, protection, maintenance and repair of equipment at all levels of application and usage (industrial, commercial and household). This engineering skills gap that affects most developing countries, compounded by lack of manufacturer's representation, has affected national productivity output resulting in economic growth slowdown. The paper discusses the identified skills gap and a challenge brought about by knowledge deficiency and suggests and outlines a roadmap in addressing the problem by the provision of intensive theory and practical based short industrial relevant courses as a means of transferring the required engineering skills. It also suggests upgrading and improvements of the current industrial short courses being offered and proposes the introduction of additional new ones in line with modern applied technology industrial trend, and suggests the implementation of success measurable evaluation outcome strategies.

Off-grid solar-PV supply could be the path for achieving energy access in rural areas of Sub Saharan Africa, significantly moving the rural population toward the target of the 7th Sustainable Development Goal. Energy from the PV plants has the desirable attributes of being clean and affordable. Despite these desirable attributes, off-grid PV plants are also prone and susceptible to lightning effects in operation, this situation particularly accentuated in Sub Saharan Africa where there is high lightning activity. To redress this, the general principles of lightning protection are invoked in the design of the PV power supply to stave off the negative effects resulting from the plant being struck by lightning. This paper discusses the matters of energy access using off-grid PV systems and proposes a design approach which makes the PV plant to be more resilient in lightning-prone regions. Five subsystems of lightning protection in PV-powered plants, which may be selectively applied depending on the results of the risk assessment, are adopted. This proposed approach is expected to reduce outages and downtime of the PV power plant.

This paper proposed a two factor authentication for vehicle access controls using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and Radio Frequency Identification system (RFID) for the University of Zambia (UNZA) vehicle access points. The University of Zambia is experiencing increasing challenge of car parking space and vehicle access controls to and within campus premises. The survey that was conducted reviewed that members of staff found difficulties finding parking spaces due to intrusion. The survey also reviewed that vehicles have been stolen within campus parking areas without detection. An access control system using integrated ANPR and RFID technologies was developed to provide five authentication states that met different vehicle access point’s requirement. It was built with ‘ORed’ and ‘ANDed’, logic settings to achieve five different states of authentication levels, each suited for a particular access point. The ANRP system used the vehicle number plate to authenticate the vehicle through the use of the camera. On the other hand, the RFID system used the drivers’ card/tag through the RFID card reader to authenticate the user. Daily transaction records were sent to the security center where information would easily be retrieved. Illegal access to restricted areas, threats of theft of motor vehicles and failed transaction recording system was amicably solved by this proposal.

This paper outlines and discusses how the functions of the existing assets of Zambia's dominant utility, Zesco, can be extended to increase the power capacity and improve the overall service delivery. Apart from the generating stations, Zesco has major assets of the high-voltage grid network, the extensive communication channel of the fiber optic network and the Supervisor Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA), all assets being high value capital investments. In the manner of the use of these three classes of assets, it is postulated that they are underutilized, but their functions can be extended by incorporation of consumer-end ICT services. The paper discusses the current and expected position of Zesco, outlining the challenges that stand in the way to enhance the functions of the utility's assets, particularly the mandate to admit the Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) on the power system. A possible route and roadmap, relying on the promotion of customer-end ICT services, is suggested to change this position. With this solution, Zesco can play the important role to make Zambia self-sufficient in energy and also to supply energy to neighboring countries.

This paper reviews the current state of electricity generation, transmission and supply in Zambia with a view of smart grid implementation as a strategy in addressing the current energy deficit. The energy deficit has been occasioned by increased consumer activities (industrial, commercial and household) and compounded by the effects of recent adverse weather patterns. A review and appraisal of the infrastructure for power generation, transmission, distribution, on one hand, and that for utilisation, monitoring and control on the other hand, for Zambia is presented here, with allusion to the emergence of smart grid (SG) technology. The inference appears to be that SG sets a more effective stage for production and utilisation of power in Zambia at this stage. SG technology would not only enhance grid visibility for improved management and control of the available power in the current state but also facilitate effective management of distributed resources in the manner that encourages investment in the new forms of power generation facilities.